The Tapavino Group are just going from strength to strength, with the opening of their newest outlet down at Barangaroo on the waterfront promenade. Born by Tapavino shares the same stylish decor as Balcon by Tapavino on Bligh Street, but the menu is slightly different – with more of a focus on seafood and plenty of jamon.
We started off with a few individual tapas – first off, the nicely presented Smoked Mackerel Brandada comes in a crispy cone, full of creamy pureed mackerel that is topped off with pops of trout roe. The delicate shredded Blue Swimmer Crab is a bite sized morsel served on two halves of a boiled egg, and is spiced up with some sumac. Our last tapas was the Balmain Bug Slider, which had juicy pieces of the shellfish coated with a piquillo pepper mayo, all sandwiched between a soft bun. All three seafood tapas were delicious and got our appetites going.
Smoked Mackerel Brandada, Paprika Cone and Trout Roe, $7
Balmain Bug Slider, $12
Blue Swimmer Crab with Huevo and Sumac, $9
We also shared the Manchego Churros which were something different, served with a chunky smoked chorizo mayo – apart from the flavour from that, the manchego churros themselves were not particularly flavoursome by themselves. The Patatas Bravas were much more packed with flavour, thanks to the spicy tomato salsa and sherry mayo.
Manchego Churros, $12
Patatas Bravas, $10
From the more substantial part of the menu, we had the Blue Eye Cod with Almejas (clams) which were cooked in a fragrant vermut blanco that was infused nicely into the seafood. We also couldn’t go past the Iberico Cebo – Jamon which had been aged for 18 months – each slice was a buttery indulgence with the crusty bread.
Blue Eye Cod with Almejas, $35
Iberico Cebo – Jamon (100g), $36
We rounded off the meal with a couple of their desserts and we loved their decadent Smoked Chocolate Terrine which had an intriguing texture and was paired with an interesting olive oil ice cream. Their fluffy Bunuelo (a.k.a. Spanish doughnuts) are always good too, served with a rich chocolate ganache and some salted caramel.
Smoked Chocolate Terrine, $14
Bunuelo, $14
Born by Tapavino follows in the footsteps of its older siblings in the group but in a new waterfront location which complements the premium seafood dishes on the menu. It’s easy with Spanish tapas to get carried away with ordering, but it all adds up quickly here and choosing your dishes carefully will keep the meal more balanced and leave your stomach satisfied too.
Born by Tapavino
9a/17 Barangaroo Avenue, Barangaroo, New South Wales, Sydney NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 8072 7387
